Showreels: How did you make them?

[SumOne]

My band has local pub gigs every couple of weeks but we're now trying to up our game a bit and think a decent showreel would help - but we haven't really got a clue how to do it.

 

What have you done? Just record it yourself/friends in the audience on phones and edit it together yourself, or pay someone to do it professionally? Was it worthwhile or a waste of time and money? 

Edited 10 hours ago by SumOne

[BigRedX]

Have you missed out on any gigs because you didn't have a show reel? That's probably the most important question to ask.

 

If you do think you need one, then do it properly. A badly produced showreel will probably put more venues off than no showreel at all.

 

Unless you have lots a spare time and are interested in learning all about filming and video editing, pay for a professional. 

 

IMO you need good sound - the ambient live mix picked up by the camera is not going to cut it. The band need to look like a band and not a bunch of middle aged blokes who happen to have picked some instruments and the venue where you film should be as undistracting as possible.

 

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

[JapanAxe]

A band I am rehearsing with recently made a showreel. The BL has his sights set on theatres, for which you need something that an agent can send to a venue.

 

First we made multi-track recordings of a couple of rehearsals, and I edited together acceptable (but not perfect) versions of the 6 songs we’d chosen. It helped a lot that the drummer plays an electronic kit! We then hired a small theatre and a videographer came along and filmed us miming to our live-in-the-studio recordings. We got mates’ rates because the BL knows him and he is trying to break into band showreels.

 

Afterwards the videographer edited together a draft and there then ensued considerable back-and-forth over what did or didn’t work. I think it’s finished now and will be launched in the New Year.

[Burns-bass]

10 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Have you missed out on any gigs because you didn't have a show reel? That's probably the most important question to ask.

 

If you do think you need one, then do it properly. A badly produced showreel will probably put more venues off than no showreel at all.

 

Unless you have lots a spare time and are interested in learning all about filming and video editing, pay for a professional. 

 

IMO you need good sound - the ambient live mix picked up by the camera is not going to cut it. The band need to look like a band and not a bunch of middle aged blokes who happen to have picked some instruments and the venue where you film should be as undistracting as possible.

 

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

This is excellent advice.

 

Last function-style band I was in we rented a studio and paid for a professional to film and edit it.

 

Paid itself back within 2 gigs.

[SumOne]

11 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

need to look like a band and not a bunch of middle aged blokes who happen to have picked some instruments 

 

 

 

This'll be our biggest challenge! 

[warwickhunt]

As a tribute, we needed a Showreel, so we did a mash of DIY and pro.  

 

Recorded audio ourselves at a rehearsal space (individually not as a live take), guitarist's brother is a bit of a whizz at recording.  Went to a theatre to mime to the track on a stage, where a guy did mate's rates for multiple shots of video.  The guitarist has the know how to then edit the audio and video to this end product.  Probably cost us £300 to rent spaces and pay for video recording but would have cost x3 that if our band didn't have the knowledge and contacts to bring it together.  

 

 

[Piers_Williamson]

What format should the finished product be in to appeal to busy pub managers?

[SumOne]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Have you missed out on any gigs because you didn't have a show reel? That's probably the most important question to ask.

 

 

I think that is tricky to answer as no one has said 'show us your showreel to pay at out venue', but in theory we assume it'd help open new doors. 

 

We have no trouble getting local pub gigs but after a couple of years of that we're starting to feel more ambitious: proper music festivals (not just local free entry ones we do), mid sized music venues, supporting bigger bands etc. 

 

 

[warwickhunt]

It used to be a 'showreel' was for corporate/club type bands but I've found that to move out from your immediate circle it is useful... but be aware some folk will listen (look) at the first 30 seconds and likely as not on a phone or mobile device.

[JapanAxe]

11 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

It used to be a 'showreel' was for corporate/club type bands but I've found that to move out from your immediate circle it is useful... but be aware some folk will listen (look) at the first 30 seconds and likely as not on a phone or mobile device.

 

Yep. keep it short and to the point - a minute is plenty!

 

I couldn't get to them before when I was on my phone, but here are a couple of shots from the stalls taken by the singer's husband. I'm stage left, playing the red Tele. The videographer also used a drone to get shots from angles that couldn't otherwise be achieved. The whole thing cost us about £400 at mates' rates, but if you are paying full professional price you will be lucky to get much change from a grand.

 

 

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Piers_Williamson said:

What format should the finished product be in to appeal to busy pub managers?

 

It should be a private link on YouTube that you can share with anyone who asks for it.

[TimR]

3 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

The band need to look like a band and not a bunch of middle aged blokes who happen to have picked some instruments and the venue where you film should be as undistracting as possible.

 

3 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

This'll be our biggest challenge! 

 

 

This is usually the sticking point for a lot of bands. 

 

The other is getting the middle aged blokes with instruments to believe in the end product. It's frustrating if the end product is slick, but is let down when the drummer has a scowl on and is thinking his time would be better spent drinking pints of Carling down at the Spoons. 

 

Personally I would do a dry run. Get a mate to come to an rehearsal room. Get the band to wear what they're planning to wear. Video a 'live' warts and all performance. Mistakes don't matter.

 

Then watch the resulting car crash back and work out how to improve it. At this point aforementioned drummer will realise how good even a rough video is and get his wife to iron his best shirt. 

 

There is nothing worse than looking like a bunch of misfits having paid a lot of money for the privilege. 

[petebassist]

7 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

As a tribute, we needed a Showreel, so we did a mash of DIY and pro.  

 

Recorded audio ourselves at a rehearsal space (individually not as a live take), guitarist's brother is a bit of a whizz at recording.  Went to a theatre to mime to the track on a stage, where a guy did mate's rates for multiple shots of video.  The guitarist has the know how to then edit the audio and video to this end product.  Probably cost us £300 to rent spaces and pay for video recording but would have cost x3 that if our band didn't have the knowledge and contacts to bring it together.  

 

 

This looks great - and I think your process bang on i.e. record properly and mime, and find a video wizard to mash it up  👌

[uk_lefty]

This is ours... I couldn't say if it has brought any new bookings but it definitely can't have lost us any. The audio is from a different gig and the video from one of the larger festivals we do. Before this we have quite a few videos that have spliced together mobile phone videos from different angles and then original audio too. The guitarist makes those somehow on an Apple PC.

 

Feel free to follow the band page and book us for any gigs in 2026.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvKAESgOpYH/?igsh=MjFrYmE1eXlxYTBk

 

And here's a version made for phone screens: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvdGYWFAxXV/?igsh=MWJvc3hteGh3b2xqcA==

Edited 3 hours ago by uk_lefty

[Al Krow]

Some decent live footage, doesn't have to be too professional, can be very helpful for getting your first booking at a new pub venue. 

 

If you want to be getting function gigs then a showreel is pretty much all that someone who has never come across the band has to go on, so having something that is decent quality both visually and sound-wise will make a difference - there's a lot of competition for function work!

 

Doesn't have to be long, 2 - 3 mins is fine. Check out some of the bands on e.g. Alive Network and you'll get a feel for the quality of the showreel clips function bands are posting.

 

We're just in the process of redoing our 2023 band reel to reflect the current 2025 band line up. We've managed to develop quite a lot of the skill set to get it done in house, which massively reduced the costs, and have decent camera and recording equipment so our main cost has been venue hire. Otherwise you can quite quickly end up spending £1k+ on a reel when you've taken account of venue hire, videographer and someone to do the sound mixing and editing. The flip side is that a function band can recover that outlay in a couple of events or even a single booking.

 

There's a couple of ways reels are typically done:

- Live take in a studio

- Get the audio recorded separately and mime to audio for the video

They both have different plusses and minuses.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Al Krow

[Elfrasho]

 

48 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

This is ours... I couldn't say if it has brought any new bookings but it definitely can't have lost us any. The audio is from a different gig and the video from one of the larger festivals we do. Before this we have quite a few videos that have spliced together mobile phone videos from different angles and then original audio too. The guitarist makes those somehow on an Apple PC.

 

Feel free to follow the band page and book us for any gigs in 2026.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvKAESgOpYH/?igsh=MjFrYmE1eXlxYTBk

 

And here's a version made for phone screens: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvdGYWFAxXV/?igsh=MWJvc3hteGh3b2xqcA==

 

IMO, this is exactly what you want from a showreel. lots of energy, interesting camera angles, quick cuts and zooms. Crowd dancing and singing along.  

 

Also, important to have a vertical version too, as so much social media is consumed vertically these days.  

 

This is my bands version for an upcoming gig, in the similiar vein, a bit less punk.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRZ7sdzlK7V/

Edited 2 hours ago by Elfrasho

[uk_lefty]

28 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

 

 

IMO, this is exactly what you want from a showreel. lots of energy, interesting camera angles, quick cuts and zooms. Crowd dancing and singing along.  

 

Also, important to have a vertical version too, as so much social media is consumed vertically these days.  

 

This is my bands version for an upcoming gig, in the similiar vein, a bit less punk.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRZ7sdzlK7V/

I love the concept for your band!!! 😎